Civic Learning Week is March 11th to 15th!

This $10,000 award recognizes a civics, U.S. government, or history teacher who has demonstrated courage and excellence in equity-rooted civic education. Deadline is June 1st.

Nominate a teacher for The Darcy E. Richie Teacher Courage Award

Learn More

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The Future in Focus: Youth Leading Now

Generation Citizen

We are transforming how civics is taught by providing community-based civics education with an equity-centered approach.

What We Do

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Equipping all young people with a real-world democracy education to effect change

Civics Day is more than an event — it is an experience that positively impacts and empowers young people to become better leaders.

Civics Day

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High school student representatives are selected from each Generation Citizen class to present their community-based civics project at Civics Days

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Students present their community-based civics project to Community Advisors made up of other students, community members, business leaders, GC Alumni and public officials.

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Community Advisors engage with students: posing questions, considering the issues students are raising, and engaging in intergenerational dialogue about community solutions

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Students are awarded for their success via our Student Changemaker award

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During and after the project is complete, students spend time reflecting on their impact and role as a civic actor in our democracy

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Get Involved

Ready to create an community-based civics program?

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Community-Based Civics

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Create a Democratic Classroom

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Choose a Focus Issue

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Take Action & Build Relationships

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Research & Create an Action Plan

Share Results

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Community-based civics recognizes, affirms, and connects learning to students’ identities, cultural backgrounds, communities, and histories. Students engage in courageous conversations centering their lived experiences as relevant assets to civic engagement.

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Students are leaders of their own learning when developing and implementing their community-based civics project. Teachers act as facilitators and share power at each stage of the learning process, inviting students to plan, implement, and make decisions about the design and direction of their community-based civics project.

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Students engage in project-based learning by working in groups on their community-based civics project. They present their final product and reflection to their community during a Civics Day showcase event.

Browse resources

A Generation Citizen class models a democracy with a focus on including all student voices in leadership and decision-making. Students center their identity and lived experiences as they explore community issues and actively apply civic knowledge and tools to engage with local civic issues.

We have resources for teachers to help with community-based civics in the classroom.

Join us for our Civic Day events at the end of each semester⁠—like a science fair, but for civics!

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Become a GC Teacher

Classroom Community-Based Civics

We build partnerships with teachers and administrators to bring community-based civics to their classrooms and schools.

How Partnership  Works

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We work closely with former GC students to support community-based democratic participation beyond the classroom. We recently conducted in-depth research on cross-generational civic engagement. Click here to access the report: <a href="https://cms.generationcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/LeveragingAgeDiversity_02082023v1.pdf">Beyond Passing the Torch: Recommendations on Leveraging Age Diversity to Build a Stronger Democracy Now</a>

Meet the Board

GC alumni contribute to our organizational strategy as full members of our Board of Directors.

Go Now

Feeling inspired by this conversation and ready to take action? Visit Vote16USA.org to learn more!

Krisha is a high school senior who has worked on campaigns to lower the voting age and reform civics education in Michigan.

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The Rhode Island Youth Voice Fellowship and Youth Research Fellowships were both launched in 2021 by the RI Civic Learning Coalition (RICLC), a multiracial, multiethnic, and multigenerational coalition convened by Generation Citizen.
These fellowships provide a year-long cohort experience in which students gain hands-on experience working with their own state civics policy.

Academics and experts in the field agree on three indicators to best predict a student’s likelihood of future civic engagement:

Find out how Generation Citizen is making an impact in these three areas.

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Our regional teams are active community members in true partnership with educators and supporters of civics education.
Use the map to explore key milestones we&#8217;ve achieved across the nation in areas of program work, policy and youth civic leadership.

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Learn More About How Community-Based Civics Works in Schools

We partner with middle and high schools to implement a community-based civics curriculum that engages students in their own communities.

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Learn More About Our Advocacy Work

We advocate for bold investments in education and tell the stories of students, teachers, and communities to illustrate the importance of civic education nationwide.

Learn More About Our Youth Leadership Work

We provide youth with training, support, and leadership opportunities so they are prepared to write the next chapter of our history.

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We envision a world where every young person can assess inclusive, representative, and affirming K-12 civic learning opportunities.

equityincivics.org

Equity in Civics

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Local elections, like those for school board members, impact young people more than anyone else. They have a say in these decisions.

Meet Vote16USA Changemakers

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Find out more

Vote16USA

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www.macivicsforall.org

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www.okcivicsforall.org

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democracyreadyny.tc.columbia.edu

Local Coalitions

<ul>
<li>Support state-based coalitions</li>
<li>Foster a supportive, responsive civics education ecosystem</li>
<li>Promote culturally-relevant democracy education by engaging diverse voices from democracy, civil rights, and education organization, emphasizing youth and educator voices</li>
</ul>

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reports

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Free, public content. Please enter your email to access the docs and slides.

Rooted in Action: 16 Years of Student-Led Change

Fact-Checking the Future: AI’s Research Flaws

Digital Media and Data Literacy Toolkit

2025-2026 Program Impact report

Kentucky Civic Seal:  A Toolkit

Generation Citizen Digital Media Literacy Unit

Generation Citizen 2024-2025 Program Impact Report

Generation Citizen 2023-2024 Program Impact Report

RISE Vote 2026: A Toolkit

Equity in Civics: Racial Equity Interview Series Brief

Civics Advocates in The State: How Secretaries of State Can Be Public Champions of Civics Education

New York State Seal of Civic Readiness: A Toolkit

Beyond Passing the Torch: Recommendations on Leveraging Age Diversity to Build a Stronger Democracy Now

We are Gen C: Advancing Equity in Civics Community Toolkit

Equity In Civic Education: Insights from the Massachusetts Policy Context

Ensuring Civic Readiness In A 21st Century Democracy

Resources available in Google Docs, Google Slides, and PDF formats

Program Papers

Reports

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New York State Seal of Civic Readiness: A Toolkit (2025)

RISE Vote 2024 Toolkit

Policy Papers

RISE Vote 2024: A Toolkit

Civics Advocates in the State: How Secretaries of State can be Public Champions of Civics Education

New York State Seal of Civic Readiness A Toolkit 2023

New York State Seal of Civic Readiness: A Toolkit 2023

Advancing Equity in Civics Community Toolkit

Equity In Civic Education

Generation Citizen Strategic Plan 2020-2025

Generation Citizen Strategic Plan 2017-2020

Ballard Cohen Littenberg Tobias 2016

How did your experience as a student, volunteer or educator in a Generation Citizen School Partnership help you build new relationships, develop new skills and open doors to new opportunities?

TELL US YOUR STORY

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Stay inspired with all the latest news from Generation Citizen!

Maryland

Missouri

Washington

North Carolina

Vermont

Connecticut

Virginia

Michigan

Minnesota

Utah

Launched a rural community partnership to bring the GC curriculum to 150 middle and high school students

Kentucky

Facilitated dialogues on Equity in Civics with administrators, teachers, and students

Texas

Launched new partnership for classroom-based programming with the School District of Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

San Francisco students created a 3-bin classroom waste system and met with the Supervisors’ Office of San Francisco to plan waste drop-off days and a beautification event

California

Piloted an educator leadership development program: 
The first cohort of Lead Teachers ran five citywide Civics Days and will train fellow educators to make programs sustainable beyond the direct support of GC

Massachusetts

More than doubled our progress reach through district-level partnership expansions

New York

A GC class project led to 3 years of student advocacy and the 2022 passage of a bill that requires adults who sell alcohol to minors to attend victim impact panels

Oklahoma

RT @lcmichaelides: My request is this: please refuse to accept the convenient narrative that bailing out SVB or allowing it to be purchased…

“The first time we’ve pulled back from freedom is after the Dobbs decision.” - @SpeakerPelosi at the Future of Global Democracy session hosted by @TheAtlantic x @sxsw #SXSW23 https://t.co/VRJzRfujsJ

"I think Kenny Chesney has a perfect voice … I tweet about him all the time and never get any engagement."

Read @kait_tiffany's culture and entertainment picks: https://t.co/fnWrTrXWKb

RT @nondocmedia: This tweet was supposed to go out at 7 a.m., but then the government said it was already 8 a.m. | #Sundaze #Cartoon #DST h…

RT @AmericanStudier: While @DrHettie2017 interviewed @lorgia_pena for @BlkPerspectives about her new book from @haymarketbooks: 
https://t.…

'A question of honesty': Fox News host asks Kevin McCarthy about giving Tucker Carlson Jan. 6 tapes

https://t.co/xRLuFmPJdH

Why hasn’t Biden gone to East Palestine?  https://t.co/DU1HhPPaVl https://t.co/cP9GEu6VpO

Aramco's Nasser says oil market tightly balanced https://t.co/deQyILicol https://t.co/sYknRgAFg8

Retailers say theft is rising as more people shop in stores, cutting into profits that were already under pressure https://t.co/5RU5cGTiHf